Author's Note: Thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter. I love getting them, so keep them coming. And you should all thank my beta, Dark Machine, who always makes sure my writing is up to snuff. In related news, I'm not sure how long the next chapter will take, as work will be getting rather hectic in the next few weeks. Touring Europe is fun, but really draining. However, if you were to review, it may inspire me to write more. Not that I'm blackmailing anyone or anything. Cause I wouldn't do that. Really. Read the chapter.
Naruto trudged down the road on his way to the pond behind the hot springs. Zabuza had finally agreed to teach Naruto the water dragon, after hearing about his fight against Lee. Of course, this was only after some teasing about Naruto and Haku's little head to head, interspersed with some fairly lethal threats if Naruto did anything to hurt Haku.
The pond behind the hot springs was technically a training ground, so it was perfectly legal for Naruto to use it, but most people shied away from using it because it was so close to the hot springs. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of a horde of kunoichi who were pissed because their soak had been interrupted due to a wild jutsu. However, it was fairly hidden from public eye, and Naruto liked his privacy when training. It came from years of hiding his true skills and being able to go off in the woods behind his house and not worry about being seen. Of course, beyond that, it was the closest training ground to the hot springs, almost universally named the best place to relax after a hard day of training.
"Alright, get out here," Zabuza ordered from the center of the pond. Naruto quickly complied, knowing he was going to learn this technique the hard way, the same way he learned the Suirou no Jutsu. It was more beneficial in the long run, but definitely harder during the actual training.
"Pay attention, because I'm not going to keep showing you the hand seals if you can't remember them." This was Zabuza's standard practice for training ninjutsu. Forcing him to keep partial concentration on water walking, Naruto got the hand seals once at half speed, and was expected to remember them. If he flubbed the seals, Zabuza would correct him, but not before smacking him in the head. Aversion therapy, he called it, Naruto just knew that it worked. He felt no need to be smacked in the back of the head.
At least it was better than Zabuza's standard practice for training taijutsu. That just consisted of Naruto trying not to die as Zabuza chased him around with a giant sword. Scarily similar to Anko's practice; and Tsunade's.
Naruto needed to find some less violent people to hang out with.
After getting smacked in the head twice, Naruto had the twenty-seven seal string committed to memory. Now he just had to get the seals up to speed with the rest of his other techniques. Of course, the fact that he had just increased his gravity seal to four times normal gravity didn't help this process. He had been careful about his weight training. He had long gotten used to training with weights when he was younger and it was just him and Ibiki, but the gravity seal offered a new aspect you couldn't find in regular weights. Naruto had to constantly put out a slight chakra buffer to keep the increased gravity from crushing him. The man who had done the seal for him had warned him about the dangers of using the seal, but with Kyuubi healing him, he wasn't too worried about lasting damage. That still didn't mean he wanted his internal organs being crushed because he wasn't paying attention to his chakra output. By now, it was a subconscious thing, and when he released the seal, that subconscious action just served to make him that much stronger and faster.
While Naruto was practicing the seals, Zabuza was perched by the waterfall feeding the pond, randomly tossing kunai and senbon at Naruto, as well as keeping an eye out for anyone trying to spy on them. He wasn't too concerned about it, but there was always the possibility, especially in a shinobi village.
This continued for an hour or so, before Naruto felt the seal sequence was up to speed and that he could do it without thinking about it too much. Finally, Naruto started to actually practice the technique.
Zabuza bit back a snort as Naruto's first attempt produced nothing more than a slight shift in the water. It was rather pathetic as far as things went, but Zabuza knew Naruto would have the jutsu down soon enough. The boy was a freaking sponge when it came to learning and adapting. Naruto already knew all of his basic water jutsu, the common ones, anyway. Some Zabuza was keeping to himself, knowing that while Naruto was perfectly capable of learning them, they were Kiri exclusive. The knowledge of some of them had leaked out over the years, but Zabuza wasn't about to simply throw them around. He might not be loyal to his home village anymore, but he wasn't going to betray them like that.
Even though they had only worked together for a few months before Naruto graduated, he had passed on a lot of knowledge. Naruto was already incredibly deadly with the Kirigakure no Jutsu, his enhanced senses guiding him through the mist effortlessly. And even though Naruto didn't use it very often, his Mizu Bunshin was good enough to fool an experienced chuunin most of the time. Even some rookie jounin would have a time seeing through the technique. And with his chakra supply, Naruto could and would spend entire days working on a jutsu until he was satisfied with it, then do it some more just to be sure. Zabuza could count on one hand the number of times Naruto had called it a day on his own. Most of the time, Naruto had someone else tell him to stop or simply passed out from exhaustion. And though the Demon of the Mist was often referred to as a slave driver, he did leave his students (few they were) conscious at the end of the day.
Zabuza fully expected Naruto to have his new technique up to a combat ready level by the end of the week. Normally a technique like the Suiryuudan would take a person close to three or four weeks to get to the point where they could use it in a fight, but Zabuza was glad Naruto wasn't most people. The water dragon wouldn't be much use in the finals, due to the lack of water. Anko had told him that there wouldn't be a body of water in the arena, which Zabuza found a little ridiculous. How did the judges expect any Suiton specialist to use their techniques? If they were true Suiton specialists, they would be able to use their jutsu without a source by the time they were elite jounin, but no genin could be expected to pull the water from the air, not unless they had a bloodline like Haku, and as far as Zabuza knew, she was the last. All the other elements could be used fairly easily. Fire came from the body, as did lightning. As long as someone wasn't in a vacuum, wind was available, and earth was just as abundant. Leaving out water was simply stupid.
Zabuza idly thought that perhaps he was biased because he had a water affinity before swiftly ignoring it.
Naruto started running through the seals again, hoping for more than just a minor shift in the water. He knew it was better than most people would hope for on a first try, but Naruto was impatient. He wanted it to work, and he wanted it to work now. Sadly, since this jutsu had a definite form, it would be all but impossible to finish by simply forcing chakra into it. He had to shape it the right way. Dammit.
Three hours later, Naruto had made it to the point where he could get a significant shift out of the water, but it certainly wasn't anything resembling a dragon, or any serpentine beast for that matter.
"Alright runt, let's go get some lunch. Watching you do this is boring work, and I'm hungry."
Naruto grunted his assent as he finished his last attempt, the water lifting and slamming back down with a wet plop. The duo quickly leapt through the trees, heading for Ichiraku's. Zabuza wasn't the biggest fan of ramen, but it was cheap enough for him to eat his fill without emptying his wallet. Provided he didn't get tricked into paying for Naruto as well, that is.
As they were finishing up, Zabuza with three bowls and Naruto with eleven, Ibiki appeared behind them in a swirl of leaves. They weren't surprised; the characteristic build-up of chakra announced his arrival. That was what made it useless for battle. Anyone with any ability to sense chakra would feel it a mile away. The lack of chakra build-up was what made the Hiraishin so deadly.
"Naruto, I've got something to talk to you about."
The blonde looked to Zabuza, not wanting to upset his teacher by just running off. He figured Zabuza wouldn't care, but it wouldn't do to have a man who was a master of a giant sword be pissed at him. "This won't take long. He should be back soon," Ibiki explained. Zabuza shrugged and waved them off before dropping his money on the counter and disappearing in a swirl of water.
Ibiki and Naruto hopped a few rooftops before heading to a secure room that was kept for the Interrogation Squad. No one else under jounin level knew about it, and the only way in was secured with locks that were specifically designed to keep ninja out. Not to mention the walls were covered in seals to keep noise from escaping. In short, it was the perfect place to do a preliminary interrogation without transporting someone back to the main offices.
"You remember that note you put on your test at the end of my exam?" Naruto nodded. "You were right. Kabuto was a spy. Apparently he was working with Orochimaru, and he was found out after Sasuke was injured during his training with Kakashi. Sasuke was unconscious at the time, and Kakashi stepped out to get a bite to eat. When he got back, there was a dead body on the floor and Kabuto was standing over your teammate. Kakashi questioned him, but Kabuto had apparently had enough skill to manipulate the body of the doctor he killed into looking and acting like him while he made his escape."
Naruto nodded gravely, knowing this wasn't time for jokes. Orochimaru wanted Sasuke for something, but he didn't know what. "Um, aniki? I know I was the one to put on this guy's trail, but why are you telling me this? Wouldn't you want to keep this secret? You could have just told me that my information worked out."
Ibiki stared Naruto in the eye. "This isn't something to spread around, you're right. However, I know you, and I'm telling you this so you know that you aren't supposed to go after Kabuto. From the information I got from Kakashi, Kabuto is as powerful as himself, and that means there's no way you're to go near him. Anko and I almost lost you once, and that's not going to happen again just because you ran off to fight someone far out of your league like you did with Orochimaru. Understand?"
"Yes sir," Naruto said with shame in his voice. He hadn't thought about how everyone would feel when he challenged the Snake Sannin, but now that he had seen the reactions, he really didn't want to be reminded of them.
"Good. Now, you probably won't see much of me or Anko until after the finals. She knows more about how Orochimaru thinks, and I'm the best in Konoha at figuring out what people are thinking, so we're going to have to deal with whatever it is Orochimaru is planning. Speaking of the traitor…" Ibiki reached out with one of his huge hands and clubbed Naruto in the side of the head before the blonde could react. "That's for doing something as stupid as fighting him. I couldn't do it before because you hadn't been out of the damn hospital before you got yourself back in there."
"And your couldn't do this last night because you were smashed off your ass from drinking with Ino-chan's dad."
Ibiki glared at Naruto that told the blonde to Shut. Up.
"I just wanted you to know the pertinent information, so you don't go and do something stupid. Alright?"
"I promise I won't do anything too stupid. Okay?"
Ibiki looked over Naruto, weighing the blonde's words, knowing the loophole Naruto just set. Knowing he wouldn't get any better without a long an involved discussion that still wouldn't quite get the result he wanted (the jinchuuriki was a powerful negotiator when pushed), the interrogator nodded. "Stay out of trouble. Just because Anko and I won't be around much, doesn't mean we don't have people watching."
"What makes you think I can't lose them?" Naruto grinned. "I've been losing ANBU since I was eight."
"And yet you can't fool that chuunin Iruka," Ibiki mused. "Watch your back. We don't completely know what Orochimaru is planning, and even if it hadn't involved you before, you probably upset him by living through his assault. He'll probably try to kill you just on principle now."
Naruto nodded and grinned. "He won't catch me by surprise again. I'll keep a better reign on my emotions next time."
A hard look pierced the blonde. "If you had listened to me, you would know there won't be a 'next time'."
Ibiki disappeared in a puff of smoke after stepping outside, the room being sealed against people entering or exiting with Shunshin, and Naruto started hopping rooftops.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
The unrevealed Kazama skidded to a stop as an even monotone called out to him. Turning around, Naruto saw Gaara standing there, staring through him. "Yeah? What do you want? I'm on my way to training, and I really can't be late, you know?"
"I have questions for you."
"Can they wait? I mean, I really am in the middle of something."
"No."
Naruto sighed. He had never been good at talking with people like this. A clone was quickly formed, and instructed to go tell Zabuza what was going on. "Alright, what do you want to know? And why ask me? Isn't there someone from Suna you could ask?"
Gaara stared blankly at Naruto. "You are the first person to treat me as a human and mean it. You do not fear me. You will answer my questions."
Naruto sighed. Apparently Gaara's life had been worse than he imagined. Would he have been this way if he hadn't had anyone who cared? "Fine, what do you want to know?"
"Why do you fight for Konoha? You are like me. I have seen the way people glare at you, but you continue to fight for them. I don't understand."
"I fight for the people who hate me because I'm supposed to keep them safe. The Yondaime sealed Kyuubi in me to save the village, so it wouldn't be right for me to try and destroy the people I'm protecting. And if I didn't fight for them I would let my precious people down, and that's something I'll never do. I know you're pretty strong, but if you only ever fight for yourself, you won't become truly strong. Only when you fight to protect someone can you fight to your full potential. See, you're strong, and I'm not actually sure if I could beat you, but if you ever threatened someone precious to me, there's nothing in the world that could stand in my way from destroying you."
"Are you threatening me?" Gaara asked as he narrowed his eyes and began preparing his sand. He had thought Uzumaki would be different, but apparently not.
Naruto shook his head. "I don't know you. We're a lot alike, and I'd like to be your friend, but you are from a different village. And because of that, I need to make sure you don't do anything stupid like that. No one messes with my precious people."
Gaara nodded with nothing more than a slight inclination of the head. Uzumaki wasn't really threatening him, but he didn't trust him yet. Admirable. "Is this the only way to become truly strong?"
Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. But everyone I've trained under has believed it, and all of them are pretty different from each other, so it's gotta be true, even if it's not the only way."
"I have no one precious to me." The statement was said with the faintest trace of shame and longing in his voice.
"So, that doesn't mean you can't gain precious people. And I'm not sure if you don't have them already. Your brother and sister are still with you after all."
Gaara paused for a long moment. "Perhaps," he said finally.
"The way I see it, you just have to work at it. If you don't try, there's no way you can get close with anyone. But just because you can't please everyone doesn't mean you should just quit."
Teal eyes with only the barest spark of life bore into Naruto. "I will think about your advice. Should it prove useful, I may have information for you. We will speak again."
Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand, leaving Naruto alone. He rolled his eyes, knowing there had been no need to be so dramatic. Naruto took off towards the training ground where Zabuza was waiting. He stumbled as he touched down on one rooftop because it was that moment his clone was dispelled, letting Naruto know that Zabuza didn't care if Naruto didn't show up, it wasn't he who had to fight in front of more than a thousand people in less than a month. The clone's last memories were of Zabuza punching it in the eye, so Naruto figured that Zabuza was at least mildly peeved that he had been passed up for a genin. Even if that genin had a penchant for crushing people with sand.
Naruto hopped across three rooftops and started through the hot springs as a shortcut. Just as he was about to hit the tree line again, Naruto heard a perverse giggle. Having been trained from an early age by Anko to punish perverts, Naruto flipped back to find the pervert.
It didn't take long. The giggle wasn't loud, but it was enough for Naruto to track with his better than average hearing. He found the source hidden among some bushes with his eye pressed against a small hole in the protective fence. Naruto idly thought that the females would have fixed any and all holes in the fences by now, but discarded the thought as too troublesome. Then he kicked himself for sounding like Shikamaru.
The blonde paused. He knew this pervert. Long white hair, green and red clothes, writing in a notebook. Naruto crept forward, hiding his presence, but knowing his target already knew where he was. He was the foremost information gatherer in Konoha. There was no way Naruto wasn't going to be detected, even though his stealth skills were some of the best among Konoha's genin. But instead of shouting out and getting the pervert beaten, he had a better idea. "Hey, Ero-sennin, you know Tsunade is in town, right?"
--
Jiraiya froze. He had been watching a particularly beautiful brunette when he noticed the person sneaking up on him. Unless they were extremely good at fooling his senses, they were chuunin level overall, at best, nothing for him to really worry about. They felt familiar, as well, but he couldn't place who it was. They were pretty good at concealing their presence as well.
Jiraiya ignored the person getting closer to him, knowing he could disable them once they got in range. Besides, the brunette was one of the best research subjects he had seen in a long time. She was alone, but that was fine, because apparently she didn't mind being alone. Not one bit. She had discarded her towel altogether a minute ago, and was now forgoing modesty completely, as she'd just stopped trying to keep an eye on the door.
Jiraiya had almost completely lost himself in watching the stunning brunette when he had figured out who the person sneaking up on him was. There was only one person who called him 'Ero-sennin', and he hadn't seen the little brat in a few months. But that one sentence had almost stopped his heart. The brunette he had been spying on didn't help his predicament, but the fear of his former teammate made Jiraiya cease his blood flow. Only moments later, he ran like the hounds of hell were on his heels. He could tell the son of his favorite student was right behind him, but didn't care at the moment. He just wanted to make sure Tsunade had no reason to think he had been peeking even though they both knew he had been.
They stopped in a clearing and Jiraiya glared at Naruto. "I told you never to call me that ever again."
The jinchuuriki shrugged carelessly. "And I told you I would as soon as you stop giving me reason to call you that. And if I still call Tsunade 'Baa-chan', what makes you think I'll stop with your nickname?"
"You actually call Tsunade-hime that?" asked Jiraiya disbelievingly. At Naruto's nod, he began muttering about crazy blondes with death wishes and not appreciating their elders appropriately. Naruto simply ignored him until he was done.
"Oi, Naruto, what are you doing? It's not like I don't have better things to do than train you to get your ass beat."
Naruto focused on Zabuza, who was now standing on a nearby branch. He hadn't sensed the Demon approach, but frankly, one of Zabuza's specialties was stealth, so he wasn't that disappointed. Apparently Jiraiya had noticed the jounin, and was now staring at him coldly. "What's a missing-nin like you doing here?"
Zabuza snorted at the coldness in the Toad Sannin's voice. "I'm here because of that brat behind you. He asked me to train him, and then ran off. Can't believe I got such a dumbass runt for a student."
"Hey!" Naruto protested. "You try rejecting a homicidal jinchuuriki who likes crushing people with sand and then come talk to me. And I was on my way to meet back up with you when I ran into Ero-sennin."
"So, what's an A-class Kiri missing-nin doing in Konoha?" Jiraiya asked again.
"Like I said, I'm training the runt. And I'm not just a Kiri missing-nin, I'm now a Konoha jounin." Zabuza tapped his new forehead protector for emphasis. "Runt there got me to join up."
"Hm," Jiraiya grunted, and mentally resolved to grill his old sensei for the real story.
"So you know all three of the Sannin, eh Runt?"
"All three? Since when do you know Orochimaru?"
"Since he decided it would be a good idea to fight the Snake Sannin during the second stage of the exam."
The super pervert rounded on Naruto. "What the hell were you thinking? Orochimaru is way out of your league."
"I know," Naruto grumbled. "And it's not like I thought I could beat him, but he was threatening my team. And he had already taken out Sasuke-teme. Gave him the same seal as Anko-nee-chan."
Jiraiya's face hardened. "Fine, protecting your team was admirable. But if I hear of you doing something like that again, I'll have to institute the 'old punishment'. Got that?"
Naruto shuddered. The 'old punishment' was one that fell out of practice around the time the Sandaime Hokage first assumed office. And while it wasn't used anymore, that didn't mean it wasn't remembered. The old punishment was where a student reported to their sensei, and then did their best to survive without fighting back as they were beaten to within an inch of their life. It was only used when someone truly and well screwed up, causing widespread destruction or complete disregard for orders that ended in tragedy. And Naruto wasn't sure even Kyuubi could keep him alive if Jiraiya was determined.
"If you did something stupid enough to deserve it, I'd probably help him."
'Thanks, fuzzy. That means a lot to me. Really.'
"I understand. But I wouldn't worry too much. After seeing just how big of a gap there is between us it's not like I'm going chasing after him. I pulled out one of my serious attacks and he sliced me from hip to shoulder less than ten seconds later."
Jiraiya arched an eyebrow. "And what serious attack was this? It's not like you ever told me what you were capable of doing." At Zabuza's confused look, the Sannin elaborated. "Naruto ran across me a couple months ago. He caught me doing research and blackmailed me into tattooing his gravity seal on him after recognizing me from an old picture of his father's. We were only together long enough for me to make sure the seal was working properly, a day, at most. So, I never got to find out what he could actually do."
"Well, I might have been more inclined to tell you something if you weren't such a pervert. And that stupid introduction really hurt your chances too."
"It is not a stupid introduction!" Jiraiya protested, causing Zabuza to stare blankly as the Toad Sannin demonstrated. The Demon of the Mist shook himself.
"Sorry, but I'm going to have to agree with Runt on this one. That was a pretty stupid introduction."
Jiraiya glared from his spot on top of his toad. "You two just don't know a good thing when you see it." He grumbled for a bit longer about ungrateful brats, but dismissed the toad nonetheless.
The Toad Sannin was silent for a long moment before speaking again. "I have some things I need to check on. You said the Uchiha received the same seal as Mitarashi? And he lived through it?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I know it was the same one because I've seen nee-chan's enough times, and I got a good close up look of his in the Forest. And after Kakashi-sensei did something to it, he was good enough to get into the finals. Course I'm not sure that he didn't just get an easy opponent, but that's just what I'm thinking. Anyone with decent ranged fighting skills could have won that match no problem. And that guy's taijutsu wasn't all that great either, for all that he used it."
Jiraiya made a noncommittal motion. "I didn't see the fight, so I can't make that call. I'll be around." He disappeared in a puff of smoke as Naruto and Zabuza hopped off through the trees to resume practice.
--
Sarutobi sighed and placed his pen down. "Alright Jiraiya, you can come out now."
The air shimmered as Jiraiya dropped his genjutsu. "You're getting old, sensei, to take that long to find me."
Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at his former pupil. "I've been old for quite some time. And in terms of ninja, I'm not the only one in the room who's old. Besides, just because I didn't say anything doesn't mean I didn't detect you. I merely waited until I knew what you were doing here."
"Maa, it's your story, tell it any way you want," Jiraiya teased. "I am wondering about a few things though. What's a former Swordsman of the Mist doing in Konoha? I never thought I'd see that."
"He joined our shinobi ranks after being convinced by Naruto-kun. He's not trusted enough not to be watched, but he's proven his worth enough not to be attacked. Leave him alone."
Jiraiya shook his head. "I've given up on my grudge with Kiri. Too troublesome, to borrow the Nara catchphrase. But another thing. What's being done about Orochimaru's latest curse seal victim? The Uchiha?"
Sarutobi extracted his pipe and went through the process of lighting it before answering. Jiraiya knew this meant he wasn't going to like the answer but there wasn't anything he could do about it, so he would have to make do. It also signaled a serious conversation was coming. "Uchiha Sasuke's curse seal was sealed with the Fuuja Houin by Kakashi two days after it was given. As long as he doesn't deliberately try to use the power, he will be fine."
"So what are you doing about it? The Uchiha clan has traditionally been nearly obsessed with gaining strength and power, with only a few exceptions, and unless my intelligence is way off base, this Sasuke is even more obsessed than normal, ever since he witnessed the massacre. Fuuja Houin will hold off the effects as long as Sasuke doesn't draw on the seal, but what makes you think he won't use it? Right now, I imagine the thought of power just being handed to him is just what he wants, don't you?"
"He is in the finals, and there isn't much I can do to prevent him from participating. I agree with your points, but he is still 'the Last Uchiha', and there would be significant political pressure for him to participate even if he weren't facing the Kazekage's youngest son. As it is, there is no chance that I can force him to withdraw without losing a great deal of clout."
Jiraiya grunted. "I've waiting for the day the council realizes the people they treat like pawns could kill them all before they knew the first hit the floor."
Sarutobi smiled internally but didn't let it show. Even though they couldn't reach here, the council did have their spies. "But until that day, we have to listen to them. Just because I can override them doesn't mean it is easy to do so. In the meantime, Sasuke-kun is being trained by Kakashi. He's the only one who can teach the boy on how to better his use of his bloodline, and is experienced enough to keep an eye on Orochimaru's seal. And as the one who applied the restrictor seal, it makes sense that he be the one who trains the boy."
Jiraiya acknowledged the point and moved on. He realized he wasn't going to get anywhere on this. "I heard my old teammate is back in Konoha. Both of them in fact. Were we having a reunion and you decided to leave me out?"
"Who'd you find out Tsunade was back from?" Sarutobi asked. They weren't exactly hiding the fact that the Slug Princess was back, but they certainly weren't proclaiming the fact either. Orochimaru was obvious; he was the only one who could have applied the curse seal.
"You know I have the best information network around, sensei. However, this one I found out when I got in the village. Ran across someone I hadn't been planning on seeing again so soon. Uzumaki Naruto."
"You already knew the boy?" Sarutobi asked. He hadn't been expecting this. "I know you knew who he was, but I was under the impression you hadn't seen him since he was born."
Jiraiya turned a critical eye to his former teacher. "Who do you think tattooed the gravity seal on him? Especially since he doesn't have any training in sealing. It's not something you just do. You need real instruction to get to the proficiency altering a seal like that takes. Not that he couldn't do it given time, but he's not even at the point to be thinking about it yet."
"I see. I had expected that someone else had done the seal, but didn't really think it had been you," Sarutobi mused. "Not that you couldn't have done it, but I would have expected Naruto-kun to have said something if he had run across his father's old sensei. I suppose it's partially my fault for not asking, but I will have to have a talk with him about giving a proper debriefing."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I still don't know all of what he did on that damn training trip he took after the incident that forced him to leave. Usually, the only way I can get him to answer something is if I ask him flat out. Not to mention he can turn a conversation away from himself just like Arashi could. You have no idea how infuriating it can be trying to get information from him. It doesn't help that Ibiki has taught him how to refine it to answer a question without telling you what you want to know."
"Hmm, I think I may have just been a victim of that myself. I just realized he never told me what technique he used against Orochimaru," Jiraiya frowned. Sarutobi just smirked, happy he wasn't the only one it happened to.
"Well, I'll leave finding that out to you. No need to spoil your fun." Sarutobi chuckled at the petulant glare his former student sent at him. He changed the topic quickly anyway. "I don't suppose you know why Tsunade came back, hmm?"
Jiraiya just looked at the elderly Hokage, silently telling him to continue. "It wasn't anything I did, if that's what you're wondering. As a matter of fact, it was because of Naruto that she even contemplated coming back."
"I'm not sure how much I believe that. Tsunade was adamant about never returning here when she made that vow. It's been a while since I checked in on her, but frankly, I don't know what the kid could have done to get her back here."
Sarutobi smiled knowingly. "Well, I surmise that it's a number of things. You've no doubt noticed who he looks like, and his dream is the same as Nawaki's. He also seems to have the ability to get people to change their how they think about things just from being around them, not a skill that should be neglected at all. He's even gotten her to stop degrading the Hokage title whenever it comes up."
"So what was the thing that got her to come back? I don't see that bringing her back."
"She lost a bet to him."
Jiraiya stared dumbly for a second before keeling over with laughter. "That's got to be the funniest thing I've ever heard. Trust Tsunade-hime to bet away her exile."
"That's not all." Jiraiya looked up. "Apparently, that wasn't the original challenge. You probably don't know this, but Naruto-kun is about as lucky as Tsunade is unlucky. There was a series of bets leading up to Naruto's getting her to come back to Konoha. Not the least of which was giving up her grandfather's necklace. Naruto's been wearing it for a long time now, and Tsunade's fairly well convinced he's broken the curse on it. Or at least she was until he was attacked by Orochimaru."
"I wonder where she is now? I suppose I should start scouring the bars to find her." Jiraiya prepared to jump out the window, but Sarutobi's voice stopped him.
"No, actually, you'll have better luck at the hospital. One of the wagers Naruto won has Tsunade working at the hospital, doing a major overhaul on how it works. I think it came about from the lack of fair treatment Naruto was able to receive as a child more than a concern to better Konoha, but it certainly has had that effect."
Jiraiya disappeared, shaking his head at the changes Naruto had wrought in his teammate. What was next, Orochimaru turning good?
--
"Hello there, hime."
Tsunade refrained from jumping as Jiraiya spoke up from behind her; it was what he wanted. She had stopped a long time ago.
"What do you want, pervert?"
"Can't I just come by and see my favorite ex-teammate? Just to catch up on old times?"
Tsunade sighed. "It's never been like that. If we're going to be in the same spot for a while, you might do that, but never on the first visit. So what are you here for?"
"You're right, I do have something I want to talk to you about. Naruto."
"Why would you want to talk about a fishcake?"
Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Don't play dumb, hime, you're too smart for it. I hear he's the reason you came back?"
"Yes, and if you don't want to become the next decoration on the monument, you'll drop this."
"I just was wondering what happened to make you stay with him. Everyone knows you could have left by now."
"Technically, I couldn't. Sensei told you what happened?"
"He told me you lost a bunch of bets. That's never stopped you from running from debtors before."
Tsunade's glare hardened. "I may not always make them on time, but I always pay my debts. This is no different. One of bets I made gets him training from me until he makes chuunin. Frankly, that probably won't be much longer, if he makes a good showing in the finals."
Jiraiya was much more interested now, but it only showed slightly. "What have you been teaching him?"
Tsunade waved her hand. "Not much formally. Mostly chakra control and anatomy, but he'll never be a medic. Even if he had the ability, which he doesn't, he doesn't have the right attitude. Other than that, I've really just trained him on fighting a superior opponent. He's gotten a lot better at thinking tactically instead of just charging in. Still does it from time to time, but since he can survive it a lot better than anyone else, there's not much I can do to train him out of it."
"That's probably a good thing," Jiraiya thought out loud.
"What's that?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just good to hear he's getting any arrogance pounded out of him," the toad summoner explained, discretely flashing their genin team's old sign for 'Later, not here'.
"He's really not that bad. He might think highly of his skills, but he's usually able to back his talk up. And when he can't, he still doesn't give up. Kind of annoying if you're fighting him."
Jiraiya snickered. "I'll keep that in mind. So what are your plans once your debts aren't keeping you here?"
Tsunade took a moment before answering. "Once he makes chuunin, I don't have to stay here any longer, so I suppose I'll leave again. It's not like there's anything keeping me here."
Jiraiya nodded, knowing now was not the time for such a discussion. "How much time do you spend training Naruto? You're here, and I ran into him training with someone I never expected to be in Konoha, Momochi Zabuza."
Tsunade snorted. "If I wasn't there when you gave up your grudge against Kiri, I'd almost think you were going to go after him. He's actually okay, for who he is. I've taken on training his former apprentice. She's talented."
Jiraiya's eyebrows shot up. Tsunade didn't praise someone like that lightly. "So, you don't have much time to train him anymore?"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him. "No, but he understands. My style isn't that suited for him anyway. Why?"
"Let me take over his training. I owe it to him, and you won't have to worry about anymore. I think he'd be pretty receptive to the idea."
"What makes you think that?"
"Who wouldn't want to be trained by the man who trained the Yondaime Hokage, the man said to be the strongest ninja in the world?"
Tsunade bit back a laugh at Jiraiya's antics, but knew it was true. Jiraiya had trained one of the most powerful nin ever, and it would free her up significantly. She might even have time to hit the gambling parlors like she used to. "Fine. But only if you're planning on actually teaching the boy something. I don't want him dying on a mission just because you neglected him to go peep. Got it?" she growled, staring the man square in the eye.
"Yes ma'am," he answered quickly, fearing for his manhood.
"Good. Now get out of here before your perverted nature takes over." Jiraiya disappeared in a puff of smoke and Tsunade went back to supervising Haku as she healed her latest patient.
--
It wasn't until two days later that Jiraiya got to meet up with Naruto again. He and Zabuza were training at the same area once again, as Naruto practiced the Suiryuudan and Zabuza took potshots with kunai and senbon.
Naruto was doing well with the technique, even though technically it should have been far beyond his ability. Jiraiya snorted. Arashi had always done things far beyond his ability as well. He had stopped judged people by what they should be able to accomplish and started judging them on what they actually pulled off a long time ago. The dragon had actual form now, and Naruto was able to direct it to crash into something, but it wasn't very fast, and once it was set into motion, he couldn't alter its course. Still, for three days of effort, it was incredible progress. It would be good enough for battle soon enough.
"Can I help you?"
Jiraiya looked over his shoulder and saw Zabuza standing there. Must have been a Mizu Bunshin up on the cliff. He had given his position away, but since he wasn't really trying to stay hidden, he didn't much care. He was here to talk with them anyway.
"I need to talk with Naruto about his training."
Zabuza stared at the Sannin for a moment, knowing he would lose in a fight, but wanting to judge his truthfulness anyway. "Fine, if the runt'll talk with you, go right ahead."
"Naruto! I need to talk with you." The blonde twisted around with a confused expression on his face, wondering who was calling him.
"Ero-sennin? What are you doing here?"
The Sannin blurred over to Naruto and smacked him on the head. "Don't call me that. We need to discuss your training."
"What do we need to talk about? Zabuza is a great teacher, and Baa-chan is just as good when she can get away from the hospital. Shizune-nee-chan helps too."
"That's well and good, but since Tsunade is busy with the hospital, we've made a deal. I'll train you in her place, and she'll help you when she gets a chance. You get more training, and she gets to focus on her work. Everyone benefits."
Naruto thought it over for a few minutes, indicating that he had understood, and tried the Suiryuudan a few more times. He always did his best thinking while training anyway. "Why do you want to train me?" he finally asked, thankful that Zabuza hadn't interrupted them, just kept an eye out for eavesdroppers.
Jiraiya glanced over at the former Kiri jounin, and Naruto flashed him the standard sign for 'talk freely'. "I owe it to your father. And to you, really." Naruto motioned for him to go on, and Jiraiya continued. "You know I trained your father. Since he's not here to train you, I feel I should in his place. Also, I should have never left you here with those damn bigoted people. I thought sensei would have been able to do a better job of protecting you, but you've turned out all right. I know it was selfish, but I had just lost the closest thing I ever had to a son, and I didn't want anything reminding me of that loss. I know you aren't the demon, but you reminded me of what I had lost."
Naruto was silent, then looked Jiraiya square in the eye. "I understand. I've understood for a long time. I don't blame the villagers for what they did. I don't like it, and I don't think it's right, but I don't blame them. I remind them of the complete destruction the Kyuubi could have caused, and the vast destruction it did cause. We're still building up our forces from that day. So don't worry about what you owe me. You're just human after all. But if you think you should train me, let's get started. I'm good for it."
"What about the Suiryuudan?" Zabuza asked. "You don't have it done, and I never said you could stop training with me."
Naruto grinned. The two experienced nin could feel a mass of chakra being molded, and Naruto quickly called out the name of his favorite technique. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A single clone popped into existence, and the original turned to him. "You should have enough chakra to practice for a good long time. Just don't destroy yourself." Naruto looked over at the bandaged nin. "Don't throw a bunch of kunai at him like you do me. It won't end up helping my reflexes at all, and if you do end up hitting him, I'll have to make another one."
"If you know about the information transfer of Kage Bunshin, why don't you use it to train?" Jiraiya questioned. "It would be a great way to get stronger quickly."
Naruto shrugged as Zabuza turned an ear to hear the answer while keeping his attention focused on the clone. "Feels a little like cheating, kinda. No one else can do it, and anyone can get stronger if they're able to fit a year of training in a day. I want to prove I'm the strongest on my own. I'll use it if I need to, but it doesn't feel right. Besides, there's always a chance something will go wrong and I'll mess myself up if I do that. I did actually try making tons of clones to learn faster when I first learned it, but after the first week, I decided not to do it anymore. I was going to use my clones to read a bunch of books at once, so I didn't have to deal with it, but after I did, I dispersed them and the information overload knocked me unconscious for almost a week. If I ever need to get tons stronger really quick, I'll use it, but other than that, I'll train normally. I'd rather not risk a stroke."
Neither Jiraiya nor Zabuza decided to mention that training jounin level jutsu as a genin wasn't normal training, and just let the comment slide.
"Fine, whatever, pass up a great training strategy. The first thing I'm planning on teaching you is the Kuchiyose no Jutsu."
Jiraiya took a deep breath to explain how the technique worked, but was sent sputtering by four words. "I already know Kuchiyose."
"What? How do you know how to summon? There's not that many people in Konoha who have contracts, and several of them wouldn't pass them on. Sensei's got the monkey contract, but that's pretty much Sarutobi clan exclusive." It seemed Jiraiya was talking to himself at this point. "Gai has the turtle contract, but frankly, you're not one of his students, so that wouldn't make sense. Kakashi has the dog contract, but he's not the type to pass that on lightly. Anko isn't allowed to add new summoners, and Tsunade never mentioned letting you sign the slug contract, so what the hell can you summon?"
Even knowing there wasn't anyone around, Naruto glanced about. "Foxes."
Jiraiya's gaze suddenly grew heavier. "Is the seal weakening? How long have you been in contact with the Kyuubi?"
Naruto waved his hands frantically to slow down Jiraiya before he freaked out more. "The seal is fine, for what it is. What do you know about it?"
"I know you were attacked by a member of Akatsuki a little over eight months ago, and when I came back to talk with sensei, he told me something went wrong with the seal, but that it was fine now. I had figured as much, as I felt the chakra wave from whatever it was you did. Frankly, I doubt anyone in Fire Country didn't. But I never found out what exactly it was from, so what happened then?"
"First off, I've been in contact with the Kyuubi since I was seven. Don't worry, there's not really any danger of him breaking free. And I couldn't summon foxes until after that chakra wave you felt. The woman who messed up my seal ended up doing something that made it so it was killing me and Kyuubi, and since neither of us wanted to die, we ended up having to do a ritual that fused us, for lack of a better word. I'll show you what that really means later on, when there's less of a chance we'll be interrupted, cause it would be kind of bad if we were. Just trust me that it doesn't mean anything bad, because otherwise the old man would never let me stay here. And Baa-chan knows about it to, and you know you can trust her."
Jiraiya studied Naruto, and the blonde fought the urge to fidget. "We will continue this later. Trust me on that. So you know how to summon foxes? Well, I can't really help you with creating techniques to use with it, as I summon toads, so I'll have to figure out something else."
"Kit, ask the pervert to summon the toad boss. I need to speak with him. We've never had the chance to set the record straight after I was sealed, and I can't imagine Gamabunta sought out to fix relations between our two groups."
Naruto didn't know where this was going, but asked Jiraiya to do so anyway. The Toad Sannin wasn't convinced it was a good idea to summon the toad boss simply because he was asked to, but Naruto eventually convinced him to do so.
"Jiraiya! Why have you summoned me? There's no battle here. You idiot, what have I said about summoning me without a reason?"
"Actually, I do have a reason. I don't know how good it is, but I do have one," he muttered to himself, hoping he wouldn't get sat on because of this.
"Kuchiyose: Kyuubi no Kitsune!"
Jiraiya was surprised by the fact that there was only a man-sized cloud of smoke, rather than the giant explosion that accompanied the most powerful summons. He was even more surprised by the fact that what looked like a human stepped out. He spared a glance at Naruto and was even more surprised by the unconscious and decidedly not human form where his new student was. As the practicing clone disappeared due to the instability in Naruto's chakra system, Zabuza hastily constructed a genjutsu and through it over Naruto, prompting Jiraiya to forestall his questions and do the same thing.
"Hello Gamabunta. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Kyuubi greeted amiably, or at least as amiably as the demon fox could.
The toad boss narrowed his eyes at the demon in human form. "Kyuubi," he greeted shortly. "What are you doing here? Come to finish what you started those years ago? You won't find me such an easy mark as you may think."
"Of course not," Kyuubi replied indignantly. "I was just doing my job back then. I would have left Konoha alone had they not attacked me first and turned over Orochimaru. It's not my fault things went the way they did. I was attacked before I was even able to make a request that they turn Orochimaru over to me so I could eat him."
"Not that I don't appreciate the idea of eating that teme, but it doesn't reassure me that this isn't a trick."
"I give you my pledge that I am only intending to negotiate peace between the toads and kitsune clans. Good enough?"
Gamabunta eyed the demon carefully. "For now. What do you offer?"
Jiraiya finally shook off the shock of seeing the toad boss and the most powerful kitsune talking like old friends, and interrupted. Probably not the best idea, but he did it anyway. "Wait a second! What's going on? And why didn't I know about any of this stuff before?"
Gamabunta turned his eye to look at his summoner. "You didn't need to know. This is something that doesn't really concern humans."
Kyuubi waved his hand back and forth, telling Gamabunta to relax. "The foxes and toads have been allies for a long time, ever since the toads moved to Mt. Myouboku, before the first ninja countries formed. We already lived in what is now Fire Country, and as neither group wanted war, we became allies. That status broke when Gamabunta and I fought. Now that we can talk face to face, we intend to fix our relations. There's no need to break an alliance hundreds of years old over what was basically a misunderstanding." Kyuubi turned back to his old friend. "Why don't you slip into something more appropriate for where we are? We don't need anyone showing up thinking there's a fight to be had."
Gamabunta gave a deep rumbling sigh, and the great toad's form blurred violently for thirty seconds before shrinking and coalescing in the form of a man, one dressed impressively, but not regally as Kyuubi was. He was not as lithe as the demon, but certainly no one would doubt the man's ability to take care of himself. There were a few hints at thinning hair on his head, but if you weren't paying attention to them, you wouldn't see them. Two daggers sat on either side of his waist, a scar decorated his left eye, and a worn pipe was set firmly in his jaw.
Jiraiya stared in amazement as Gamabunta demonstrated a skill he had no idea he ever possessed before. "Wha…?"
"I knew this wasn't such a good idea, Kyuubi," Gamabunta said, puffing his pipe solemnly. "I'm going to have to throw Jiraiya across the damn country to get him to leave me alone about this."
"Why didn't you tell me you could do this?" Jiraiya demanded as he regained his voice. "You always said you couldn't do ninja techniques."
The glare the summon sent him reminded Jiraiya that just because the form was different, it was still the enormous toad boss he was talking back to. "I never told you because there's no use for this in battle. I can't assume any form except this one, and as you saw, it doesn't go particularly fast."
Kyuubi took over the explanation. "About three hundred years ago, the alliance between the toads and foxes became strained. In order to relieve tension, I taught the toad boss of the time how to do one of the kitsune's unique skills, though only a basic version. Since then, the toad boss has had the ability to shape shift into a human form. As per the agreement, only the boss was permitted to know the skill, but it did fix relations between our clans at the time."
Jiraiya shook his head at the explanation. "I thought that since it was unique to kitsune, they were the only ones who could use it?"
Gamabunta shook his head. "Any creature with youki can use it, if trained properly." Kyuubi nodded at that. It wasn't necessarily the truth, but it was close enough. Any creature with youki could do the basic version the toad boss used, but you had to be a kitsune to be able to master it. It was also what Naruto used to hide his hanyou form. Kyuubi had just explained it to the blonde as an illusion because it was easier and at the time, hadn't wanted to deal with meting out details. "It's no different than your ninja clans' techniques," Gamabunta continued. "Just because none outside the clan know how to perform the jutsu doesn't mean they can't learn them. They just aren't let out to be learned, to give them an advantage."
Jiraiya nodded, comprehending now. "So what are you going to do to confirm the alliance now?" he asked, curious and unable to stop himself.
Kyuubi locked eyes with Gamabunta and smirked. "Well, I figured we could go out for a long night of drinking on me, and if we needed to resolve anything after that, we could go from there."
The transformed toad nodded. "Sounds good to me."
"That's it?" Jiraiya questioned. "No long talks or discussions?"
Kyuubi shook his head condescendingly. "Humans feel the need to draw things out and overcomplicate everything. We demons have a much better grasp of how to work things out. If something can't be resolved, we will fight until one side concedes. If things can be resolved, we will say what needs to be said without the niceties. We are smart enough to know true feelings and motivations. Also, we have found that if things can't be worked out in a bar, they won't be able to be worked out in a stuffy room any better."
One thing from the lecture stuck out to the Sannin. "Demons? The toads aren't demons."
Gamabunta snorted. "No normal animal would be able to speak a human tongue, Jiraiya. We are demons, but humans haven't acknowledged the fact that we are for a long time because it makes them feel safer. Demons are not the evil creatures humans portray them to be, don't believe they are. And you don't see most summons as demons because most contracts have been long established and we don't treat humans the way you would expect a demon to act. We've dealt with humans long enough to determine that they aren't like some of the old prejudices would have us believe. Of course, some of the newer contracts still retain their old feelings. Look at the snakes and specifically Manda. He acts as he does not just because he is an arrogant bastard, but because he still sees humans as far below him."
Jiraiya nodded, and off to the side, Zabuza decided he needed to talk with the sea serpents about this. It wouldn't do to have information available to him and not try to get it.
"So, I have eighteen hours on the outside before I need to go back and prevent Naruto from dying. Let's go hit the bars."
Gamabunta nodded, and the two powerful creatures walked off, leaving two dumbfounded humans and an unconscious jinchuuriki in their wake.